Galant gezelschap

Why is this company so merry? This painting depicts several of life’s pleasures. On the left, a singing woman plays the lute. The objects on the table and the pearl earring belonging to the woman in the middle both allude to luxury. The toiletries on the
table, including a mirror, likely allude to vanity. The bed and the two gentlemen entering with a hare and a partridge are a nod to another kind of pleasure: ‘chasing the hare’ and ‘birding’ were euphemisms for making love.